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Dean Ervin, 94, was born on January 10, 1932 to Mildred and Earl Ervin. He grew up with his brother Keith in Vinton, Iowa - a small midwestern town surrounded by cornfields. Two of his grandparents were immigrants from Denmark, one from Northern Ireland, and one was an American-born daughter of immigrants from Germany. He grew up helping in his father’s car dealership and repair business (the Ervin Motor Co.), and he would sometimes drive the newest Buick model in Vinton’s Fourth of July parade.
Dean was an Eagle Scout, and believed in the virtues of hard work, respecting others and doing the right thing. He was a strong student and won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy by a competitive exam. The academics and rigorous discipline of Annapolis were a huge change, and he matured quickly. He graduated in 1954 as an Ensign in the Naval Supply Corps. Dean was assigned first to an APA troop transport, then two years on a destroyer (USS Hale) based in Newport, R.I., which included cruises to South America and the Mediterranean. In one Pacific cruise, he briefly helmed the USS Wisconsin, one of the 4 Iowa class battleships, the largest and fastest ever built by the U.S.
During his time in Newport, Dean met Cynthia Sellman, a lovely young woman from Boston, at a party with friends. After wooing her with letters from ship - and a few more visits in person - they were married in May 1957. After marriage, the couple moved into military housing at a high security base near Las Vegas (no air conditioning!). At the end of his mandatory Navy service, Dean applied to Harvard Business School and shifted to a civilian business career.
He graduated from HBS in 1960 and was recruited by Corning Glass Works. Dean moved to Corning, NY but Cynthia was pregnant and stayed in Boston to give birth to Dean Wilson Ervin Jr. They bought their first house in a Corning suburb (Painted Post). Daughter Deborah Burgess Ervin was born in 1962. The family moved briefly to Bradford, PA and then to Raleigh, NC, where Dean worked on strategic planning for the new Electronics Division.
In 1963 the family moved to Wilton, Connecticut, which was to be their home for the next 37 years. Dean worked at Pitney Bowes and then as Vice President of a computer start-up partly owned by Pitney Bowes. Later, he overcame his aversion to the New York commute and joined NL Industries as Director of Strategic Planning and board member of Timet, Standard Steel, and Canada Metal. He loved the excitement of business life in New York. He concluded his career there with Right Associates.
For more than 70 years Dean enjoyed singing tenor in many choirs and other groups, both great and small. He was active with many local organizations including senior warden of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton, and president of the Wilton Riding Club. In Chatham, he was president of the Circulating Library men’s club and joined the Chatham Conservation Commission. He loved being an active participant in all parts of this life and always took the opportunity to “join in”.
After retiring from their careers, Dean and Cynthia moved to Chatham, a small town on Cape Cod overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. They had good friends there from their Wilton days and from Cynthia’s teen-age years when she summered in Chatham. They made many new friends in their retirement, and Dean treasured them all. After twenty years on the Cape they sold their house and moved back to Redding CT, to be closer to family.
Dean is survived by: wife Cynthia Ervin of Redding, CT; brother Keith Ervin of Vinton, IA; by his children Wilson Ervin, a finance executive in NYC (wife - Lili), and Deborah Ricketts, a teacher in Wilton, CT (husband - Tom); and by 5 grandchildren: Jack Ricketts of Gainesville, GA, Sam Ricketts of the University of New Hampshire, Abbe Ricketts of Mt. Holyoke College, Emma Ervin of NYC, and Alexandra Ervin of Oberlin College. He is also survived by Cynthia’s siblings: Peter Bryant (wife - Sally) and Susan Stahlberg (husband - Larry), both of Hancock Pt, ME, and Arnold Amstutz of Bloomfield, CT.
We will all miss his intelligence, his friendly banter, his hard work, his toasts at Thanksgiving, his tears in nearly every movie, and his example of always doing the right thing.
A memorial service will take place at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton, CT, at 11:00 AM on March 28, 2026.
In lieu of flowers, feel free to donate to St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Chatham, MA.
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